Workshop Description
In the dry climate of California, we enjoy using colorful succulents in creative containers. These little "hens and chicks" as they are sometimes called, grow in almost any well-drained container and make a cheerful, low-maintenance display. During the workshop, Carol will show faux painting and image transfer techniques to create succulents in old, re-purposed pots and pans. Students will make realistic looking succulents; weather wood; transfer artwork; create "china", "aluminum", and "graniteware"; and work with paper to make a 3D garden star.

PRICE: $63 (AUD) Includes:

wood crate with succulents

cooking pot with succulent garden

small pan with succulent garden

coffee pot with succulents

tea kettle with succulents

muffin tin with succulents

garden gloves

"mini" teacup house

"china" dishes

pot with soil and scoop

3D hanging star

A list of recommended tools/supplies to bring will be emailed to participants prior to the workshop.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

One of the the things that I enjoy about making miniatures is incorporating my experiences into the kits that I design. Before we moved from Wisconsin to California, I visited my mom, who still lives on the crop farm where I grew up. I wanted to channel the feelings that I had about the family farm into a creative outlet.

On the family farm, my father farmed corn and soybeans. Under his patient guidance, I learned – among many things – how to drive tractors. I also learned that corn should be "knee high by the Fourth of July" (this was before the days of plant genetics)! It was these memories that I channeled into creating our first farm-inspired kit, A Bushel and a Peck.

Recently, I've re-visited my farm roots to create The Farm Stand kit. I hope that it brings a bit of joy and a feeling of nostalgia to other miniature enthusiasts.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

This free, online magazine is the result of a collaboration with Robin Betterley's Miniatures. We wanted to work on a project that not only showcased our miniature art, but also gave us the opportunity to incorporate other creative interests: writing, photography, cooking, etc. In addition to delivering fun and unique projects to a teeny bit readers, we want to promote the work of other professional miniature artists, so we included an artist profile of Suzanne and Andrew’s Miniatures. It's been a tremendously fun and creative group effort.

We are offering a teeny bit magazine in hopes that it will inspire you to... Make something teeny!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Here are 50 more dollhouse miniature tutorials for holiday inspiration. These are a follow-up to the 100 miniature tutorials that I previously posted (added to the bottom of this list for convenience). If you would like to add a tutorial to this list, please leave a comment below. Your suggestions are welcome!

Friday, August 1, 2014

Chalk paint has a velvety, dull finish that gives
the appearance of old, painted furniture. You may have seen chalk paint
used on full size furniture found on Pinterest and on blogs. Here is a
tutorial for mixing your own chalk paint and adding a finish to create
that perfect, vintage look!

This is a great way to enhance the look of manufactured dollhouse furniture!

calcium carbonate (available in small quantities from wine making shops)

paste wax (I like the American Paint Company brand because it is not harmful to breathe or to work with)

Mixing
Mix 2 parts latex/household emulsion paint and 1 part sifted calcium
carbonate into a small, airtight container. Whisk together until the
paint is completely smooth (this takes a while).

Add a VERY TINY amount of the acrylic paint to the latex mixture and
whisk. Keep adding acrylic paint and mixing until the desired color is
achieved. Remember: the paint will dry darker than the color of the wet
paint.

Creating samples
Make sample chips using scrap pieces. This is a great time to learn
about chalk paint and using it with stain and wax finishes, so don’t
skip this step! You may wish to try various combinations of finishes,
for example:

stain, paint, wax

paint, sand some areas bare, stain bare areas, wax

paint, wax

how about stain, paint, gold marker, wax?

Have fun and be creative! Don’t forget to write your recipes on the back of your sample chips!

Applying finishes
When you’ve chosen a look that you like and the color, proceed to
sanding your piece and applying the finishes. Sand between each coat of
stain/paint.

Finish the piece with several coats of wax, buffing between coats (following instructions on the container).

Used in the photos
BLUE CABINET: A tiny amount of green and yellow acrylic paints were mixed into the off-white latex paint (mixed with calcium carbonate) to achieve the color of this cabinet. The cabinet was sanded between coats of paint. Clear and dark wax was applied. Pink Chintz and Blue Chintz Decals and Dish Blanks are available from true2scale.com. Doll by Marcella Cupello, Cutie Mini Dolls.

WHITE CABINET: This cabinet was painted with the off-white
latex/household emulsion paint mixed with calcium carbonate, sanded,
stained in the bare wood areas with dark walnut, and waxed.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Curious about what goes into designing a logo? Here is how the logo for the the NAME National Convention in St. Louis was created.

Step 1
In 2012, I gathered information from the Steering Committee of the event. The committee requested that the theme of the convention, "Rollin' on the River" be used in the text, along with a strong visual.

Step 3
I began sketches based upon the words that had strong visuals. Time: approx. 3 hours

Step 4
The design process moved to the computer, where I came up with several iterations of the logo until I was happy with the final. Here are 2 earlier iterations:

I had settled on the visual of a steamboat; representing the Mississippi River, the connection between all of the states in the region that is hosting the NAME event. But I struggled with the amount of text; it was just too many words to use with a graphic.

As you can see in the second version (above), I was starting to play with the shape of a boat - stacking words on top of a woodtype ornament to suggest the bottom of a boat. I decided to simplify the design further, and make the text into the shape of a steamboat. The "LL" in "Rollin" was extended to appear like smokestacks, and a flourish was added to give the impression of steam as well as balance the graphic ornament on the bottom of the logo. Time: approx. 5.5 hours

It was such a fun project, that I even designed an additional graphic to go on t-shirts, tote bags and aprons: